Visions 2
by QueenKarin13
Summary: Sequel/continuation of Visions. No one remembers what happened except for one object. The captains' connection to that object leads them to see everything that happened to Ichigo and the gang, including the risk of another rare and dangerous hollow, a substitute soul reaper's sensitive side, and a supposedly dead former captain...
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own Bleach.**

**Heya! If you are a new reader, go to my profile and read Visions first, otherwise this won't make any sense. If you have read Visions, then read this fic as its sequel or just be content with the end of Visions. Enjoy! :)**

**OoOoOoOoO**

Rukia had gone back to the Soul Society to deliver her report, which she was having a lot of difficulty on for some reason. There were holes in her memory of what she did on her hollow-killing mission, and it was getting irritating. The midget sighed, rubbing her temples with her fingers. _Think! We went to the park where the arrancars were supposed to be, and then... we somehow teleported to Urahara's? Dammit, none of this makes sense! _Rukia slammed the desk and sent all her papers flying, which didn't help matters in the least.

"Aaarggh! Stupid report with the stupid-"

"Rukia? You okay in there?" the captain of squad thirteen asked poking his head into the office with a hint of laughter in his voice.

"Oh! Captain Ukitake! I'm sorry if I disturbed you, I'll get this mess cleaned up right away..." Rukia babbled apologies as she hurriedly tidied up the papers all over the floor and returned them to the desk.

"I can finish the rest of the paperwork for you Rukia, I'm feeling well today. I take it you're done with your report?"

"About that sir... I can't seem to remember the most important parts of the mission. All I remember is arriving at Karakura Park with Ichigo and the others. After that, everything went blank and we all found ourselves at Urahara's Shop with no memory of what happened. A scan on my device showed that there was no trace of the hollows though, so someone _did_ complete my assignment."

"Interesting," Jushiro said. "Are you sure you don't have any idea of what happened in the memory blank-out?"

"Yes, none of us remembered anything, and there were no clues to what we did, as the only traces of spirit energy were in places that we remembered going to."

"Hmmm... Until we resolve this, just make your report vague and say the mission was completed. I think there's something fishy going on, but it's not a major concern at this moment."

"Okay, thank you Captain," Rukia smiled and exited the office while Ukitake shook his head and ignored the familiar sensation of missing something. If you ignored the feeling, it tended to go away.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Yamamoto sighed and turned to a red-clad man after reviewing some disturbing footage.

"Send for Captain Ukitake at once!"

"Yes Head Captain Sir!" the messenger said as he took off as fast as he could.

**OoOoOoOoO**

"And then I'm like, 'Maybe you should've thought of that _before_ you-' HIC!" a sixth seat tumbled out of his chair and crashed into the floor in mid-story, making all his buddies laugh and hiccup wildly. The messenger allowed himself a brief smile before finding Captain Ukitake with Captain Kyoraku in a room at the back of the bar.

"Captain of Squad Thirteen, Head Captain Yamamoto requests an urgent meeting with you!" he announced in a kneeling position with one fist on the floor.

"So sudden without reason? But I guess it can't be helped."

"Yeah, the old man never was one for patience," Shunsui chimed in. Jushiro got the odd feeling he'd dismissed with Rukia Kuchiki earlier as he left and followed the messenger out of the bar to the first division in a quick flash-step. The old man was waiting for them when they arrived.

"I will get right to the point here," said Yamamoto, sparing no time for pleasantries. "Come and look at this footage." Ukitake nervously moved towards a screen that he himself had set up after first meeting Ichigo as the messenger took the hint and left, going back to the bar for different reasons. Yamamoto started it, and as the two men inside watched the "movie", Jushiro got paler and paler with every event shown, until the footage stopped. A black disc was ejected from the screen and he had a coughing fit.

"Head Captain, *cough* are you sure that those were-?"

"Yes. I believe this also explains your subordinate's incomplete report." A silence only interrupted by the occasional cough grew between the two captains as they gazed at the (now blank) screen directly connected to Ichigo's combat pass, which had recorded everything.

**OoOoOoOoO**

**For this fic, I think I'm going to make the captains do something with Isshin being alive and the potential risk of another hollow like that one. Any more ideas? Next chapter should be longer. Review on any corrections that need to be made as well as ideas.**

**Btw, this fic isn't my main one right now so it will be updated less frequently than Heart of the Family. I will update it though.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks to Matsukaze Tenma and Mallets2012 for helping me brainstorm for this chapter! :)**

**I've decided to do ****something in a different direction for this than what I posted at the end of the last chapter. There's a boring captain's meeting in this chapter but you'll get what I'm doing at the end of it. Thanks for waiting, and here ya go! :)**

**OoOoOoOoO**

"This captain's meeting will now begin!" Yamamoto announced as he slammed his cane on the ground. "What I am about to tell you is extremely classified information that we have collected from substitute soul reaper Ichigo Kurosaki's combat pass." All of a sudden muttering and questions broke out around the room as the captains turned to their neighbor to ask what exactly the announcement might mean.

"SILENCE!" Yamamoto growled as he struck the floor once again. "I will explain."

"Head Captain, should we not just show the footage itself?" Jushiro spoke up. "It would get the point across much more-"

"WE MUST NOT. First of all we must take the boy's privacy into consideration. Secondly, there are many useless scenes that would have to be watched again or skipped past, and I have neither the time nor the patience to do that. Now I shall explain. The substitute soul reaper and his human friends encountered a kind of hollow that I have not seen in many, many years. It had the power to travel through time and space by ripping open a variation of the common garganta," said the Head Captain. Gasps went up around the room along with many whispers of "impossible!", but one little extra bit of spirit energy from Yamamoto shut everyone up.

"The hollow led the humans and Ichigo Kurosaki to a point in time where the substitute soul reaper encountered a younger version of himself, along with his family." Everyone stayed silent, knowing the way their Head Captain paused meant something serious was coming up.

"The father of this family was none other than former captain Isshin Shiba." Now nothing from the Head Captain could stop the cries of "WHAAAAAT!?", "Who the hell cares as long as he's strong!", "Fascinating", "The Captain!?" and disturbed "Hmmms" from the other ten captains. Jushiro already knew of course and Byakuya didn't say anything either, but his eyes widened to a new record. When everything died down, Yamamoto resumed.

"This is an issue that must be dealt with, but you must see something else first. Captain Ukitake!"

"Yes Head Captain, right here."

"This is the only part of the footage that I will show you. It concerns how a being as strong as this espada-level hollow was defeated." A familiar screen was brought in and a black disc was inserted as it started to play a scene.

_Ichigo opened his eyes in the real world slowly, not flinching when his swamp-haired opponent appeared in front of him._

_"Are you ready, Ichigo Kurosaki?"_

_"Bring it on. BANKAI!"_

_Their swords clashed fiercely and repeatedly, the only visual being orange sparks flying out everywhere that the blades smashed into each other. Ichigo and the espada were using high level flash step and sonido. They came together one more time and their zanpakuto pushed hard, fighting to overpower the other. Ichigo used the close range to his advantage._

_"Getsuga Tenshou!" he fired off a beam of black and red light at the hollow who couldn't react fast enough. His arm was completely burned off, but the enemy just smiled like he'd already won._

_"There's no way you can beat me soul reaper. You are unable to do this!" he released a burst of energy and his arm regenerated in less than five seconds. He grinned widely at his opponent's shock. "The only way to beat me is by a direct hit to my internal organs or if you can regenerate to keep up with me, but since you cannot do that, you are useless!" Green hair flicked back as the hollow bent over backward and laughed at the sky, completely losing himself in the fight. "Lord Aizen, what do you see in this human!?" he kept laughing loudly, making Ichigo angrier and angrier. How dare he insult him after everything he had to do to get stronger. "It looks like our little plan to test his strength was a complete failure!" Ichigo's enemy was still babbling to a nonexistent Aizen in the sky. "Ichigo Kurosaki is WEAK!" Ichigo's anger reached a peak, he didn't care what he might have to do to beat this monster who underestimated him. Even if that meant willingly unleashing his most darkest instinct. Suddenly-_

_"Hey you," a double toned voice rang out, unknowingly harmonizing with the deep laughter. "King let me out so I could maim you slowly and painfully, and he did it willingly," a certain glee came into the voice while a mask started forming over one side of Ichigo's face. "If I didn't want to tear you apart so much, I would be thanking you for this wonderful opportunity! YAAAAAAAAAHAAHAAHAAEEEEEAAAAH!"_

It was completely silent again except for Byakuya, who muttered, "So he made an appearance again." Everyone turned toward him.

"Captain Kuchiki, what do you mean?"

"In the battle between us on Sokyoku Hill, Ichigo Kurosaki lost control and that... thing took over his body to fight me. He gained control afterwards but not before I saw the hollow."

"So it isn't completely under control?"

"I'm afraid not," the Head Captain said. "Precautions will have to be made against this happening again, but it will have to wait as we are still at war with the traitor Sosuke Aizen, who was the instigator in this whole scenario." At the name, everyone clenched their teeth and if they had a hat they pulled it over their eyes. Only Mayuri spoke up.

"Why must we wait? The Hogyoku is still asleep and there's not much we can do except to train and better our skills and abilities. I say we get rid of the traitor and the substitute soul reaper so we kill two birds with one-" Mayuri was interrupted as cries of outrage broke out around the room.

"SILENCE!" the Head Captain roared for the second time. "We owe Ichigo Kurosaki a debt of gratitude, so we will trust him to control his inner hollow and he will not be killed," The whole room except for Mayuri let out a sight of relief. "but Isshin Shiba disappeared in the world of the living, lost his powers, and married a human. This _cannot_ go unpunished."

"Head Captain, does the debt of gratitude not also extend to the boy's father?" Shunsui asked. "I mean, it would be rather cruel of us to say we won't kill Ichigo Kurosaki and just turn around and kill his father instead. Besides, I've heard that he has two younger sisters, making former captain Shiba a father of three. We can't kill him and ruin a whole family."

"You misunderstand, I simply said punish, not kill."

"That's right Captain Kyoraku. The new Central 46 is much softer than the old one, so I'm sure that they won't judge too harshly on Isshin Shiba."

**OoOoOoOoO**

"Yuzu quit it! I feel perfectly fine, I don't need this medicine!"

"I have to agree with your brother, Daddy feels a hundred percent okay!"

"No no, you two have been sneezing all day, you must have some sort of cold! Karin keep then pinned down, I don't want them moving in their sickened condition."

"Yeah yeah whatever," Karin said looking down at her struggling family members against the tight white bed covers. "But it's strange, they look fine to me..."

**OoOoOoOoO**

"I believe that we have covered everything. DISMISSED!" Yamamoto announced, and everyone filed out of the room, feeling like they'd talked a lot but had accomplished nothing. Not that different from most meetings actually. As all the captains returned to duty and a soul reaper from the fourth came to sweep the grand room, he noticed something lying on the ground.

"I wonder what the heck this thing is..." he mumbled while picking up a black disc. He stared at it as he finished cleaning, never noticing the words in all caps saying "CLASSIFIED" on the back. He suddenly made a sour face and realized how incredibly boring the disc looked, and tossed it out onto the street. Who cares who found it? It wasn't his problem.

**OoOoOoOoO**

**If you think I missed anything, PM me or leave a review. Sometimes when I get caught up in writing a chapter I miss something from the big picture.**


	3. Chapter 3

***Drumroll...***

**HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATSUKAZE TENMA!**

***Insert sounds of laughter and happiness here* :D**

**So I think this fic will be more of a "what if this happened" kind of epilogue on the first one than a whole new sequel. And the tone for this chapter in the beginning is** **more fun and upbeat and kinda goofy like the filler episodes in the anime.**

**OoOoOoOoO**

The red-headed lieutenant strolled down a road in the Seireitei. The sun was shining, and it was a great time to chillax. All the lieutenants got the day off from training due to the twelfth division conducting experiments on all the training grounds, trying to find a way to replicate the effects of some strange hollow that only the captains knew about. But that was for them to figure out. He wondered what he should do today, maybe bug Rukia, or go drinking with Izuru and Shuhei. Or...

"Aha!" Renji smacked his fist against his palm, getting an amazing idea. _I'll bring Rukia and some of the others over to the barracks and we can watch one of those sci-fi movies from the world of the living! This is gonna be perfect. _Renji smiled to himself, so lost in thought he almost stepped on a small black disc.

"Gaah!" he flailed wildly for a second before regaining his balance and looking back. "What the heck is this thing?" Renji bent down and picked up the disc to look closer. He flipped it over and it was still as blank and black as ever. His brow furrowed. _Should I take it or give it to the captain? But if it's not appropriate I'll get in trouble! Maybe I should just call the others over and we'll review it before turning it_ _in. _Satisfied with the last option, he shrugged and pocketed the disc, letting the CLASSIFIED sticker float down and settle on the ground with the dust, forgotten.

**OoOoOoOoO**

"So Renji, what's this thing you found?"

"It's a movie Rukia."

"Is it any good?" Rangiku pouted. "I don't want to be wasting my time here if I could just be drinking sake with Nanao instead."

"That's why we gathered here to find out, so can I get it started?"

"Yes, hurry up as I really should be doing my paperwork right now."

"Captain Hitsugaya!? I didn't invite you here!"

"Be more respectful Renji!"

"Oh captain it's not that big of a deal."

"Rangiku's right Shiro," Momo said. "let's not be mean and just enjoy ourselves!"

"I've told you a million times, it's _Captain Hitsugaya_-"

"Can I please just start the movie already!?"

"That's what we've been telling you to do you idiot! Gimme that," Rukia grabbed the disc from an indignant Renji and jammed it into the opening on the primitive Soul Society televisions.

"Careful Rukia, don't break-"

"Shhh it's starting!" Everyone settled down comfortably and watched patiently as the screen flickered to life. The first image that came on was an impatient Uryu asking where the arrancar were. Then an invisible pressure made the human girl Orihime collapse while a certain black-haired soul reaper called out her name.

"This is... these are the memories I can't remember!" Rukia burst out.

"This is the footage that the Head Captain collected," Toshiro murmured to himself, wise enough to not shout it out loud where everyone would hear.

"Then we should definitely turn this in." Momo started to get up but was pulled down by Rukia.

"Don't, lieutenant. I need to know what happened during my mission, and something tells me it's important. Is this alright Captain Hitsugaya?"

"I suppose, since most of you are prominent member of the court guard squads. You deserve to know what our captain's meeting was about. But you must not speak of what you see to lower ranking officers," Toshiro said. But sadly he didn't fully realize the content of the 'movie,' having not seen it fully himself.

"Understood!" When the group turned back to the screen, which had been playing the entire time they'd been talking, they got a quick but scarring image. Rukia was being slashed by an arrancar.

...

"WHAT!?" Everyone shouted, snapping around to face the midget who was just as surprised as they were.

**OoOoOoOoO**

**Well now that I've gotten through the intro to the watching it can actually happen in the next chapter now. Sorry I know this was short and didn't really get to the part you've all been waiting for. Review if I missed anything and gimme all the constructive criticism you've got. I mean it.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Huzzah more V2! This is more than twice as long as the last chapter.**

**Like HotF, I recommend you read the last chapter to refresh your memory.**

**OoOoOoOoO**

Recap: "WHAT!?" Everyone shouted, snapping around to face the midget who was just as surprised as they were.

"I-I have no idea!" Rukia said, flabbergasted.

"Are you hurt in any way!? You sure you're still in one piece!?"

"Of course I am Renji, otherwise I'd be in the Fourth Division right now. Use your head!"

"Shush both of you! We're missing the movie!"

"Lieutenant Hinamori? I thought you were the one who objected to-"

"SHHH!" she said adamantly before turning back to the screen. Everyone followed her lead, and returned to watching as soon as Ichigo was finishing a sentence.

_"-bastard!" Ichigo turned to the hollow who struck his friend down. "I'll kill you for that!" he drew Zangetsu and pointed it forward, one arm on top of the other. "Bankai!" Spiritual pressure glowed bright blue around him before changing to red and black. His robes and fighting skills transformed to being darker and more efficient and deadly. Then Ichigo charged at the hollow with a loud yell._

"...yep, that's definitely Ichigo."

"For sure."

"Idiot always rushes headfirst into everything."

"Hey Rukia, are you remembering any of this?"

"Not really," she said. "It's like a faint sense of déjà vu, but nothing more."

_Ichigo yelled and fired another dark crescent at his enemy, but he-it? sidestepped._

_"Oh, you'll have to do better than that, soul reaper! Otherwise you won't be worth my time or the boss's!" The arrancar said with a malicious smile._

_"Your life ends here you filthy monster," Ichigo growled, and he pulled his hollow mask on with a yell of two voices: Ichigo's voice and the voice of the hollow inside him._

Most of the soul reapers in the room flinched, except for the ones who knew Ichigo well. Momo muttered, "I will never get over seeing that mask on a fellow soul reaper." No one contradicted her because they understood, even if, like Rukia and Renji, they'd gotten over it. The group returned to watching with rapt attention while Ichigo finished the fight and dispelled his bankai before rushing over to Rukia and checking to make sure she was okay. Everyone leaned closer, inching towards the screen-

"Rangiku!" A sudden voice startled everyone and they jumped . Nanao stormed angrily into the room. "I've been waiting for an hour already! You said you'd meet up with me at the-" then she stopped in here tracks and shifted up here glasses before looking around the room for the first time, and seeing the high ranking officers and Rukia gathered there. "Captain Hitsuguya, what's going on here? Is this a briefing?"

"No lieutenant. But it is important. You may stay if you'd like to, but no more interruptions."

"Oh okay... well actually-"

"Are you gonna stay or not?" Renji broke in impatiently. "We're missing the movie, so make up your mind Lieutenant."

"Very well, I'll stay," She said with a final glare at Renji, telling him that it was her choice and not his. The soul reapers glued their eyes back to the screen in time to see Ichigo questioning the human girl, Orihime.

_"-does that mean?" There was a pause. "Orihime, answer me dammit!" Ichigo surprised himself, swearing at Orihime like that. She looked at him, stunned, with those unbearably innocent eyes. "Sorry. But tell me, is Rukia going to be alright?"_

_"There's spirit energy from that hollow trapped inside her mind. I- I can't reject it." Orihime said. _

_"But how is that possible? The hollow wasn't that strong!" Ichigo shouted._

_"Wow, wow, quiet down Ichigo!" Uryu raised his hands. "Raising your voice won't get us anywhere."_

Rangiku snickered a bit. "Well Rukia, he sounds a little protective of you, don't you think?"

The said soul reaper slowly started turning a tomato red before bursting out angrily, "It- It's not like that at all!" Everyone in the room snickered, not believing her for a second. "I'm serious! Tell them Renji!"

..."Tell them what, exactly." The smooth voice of Byakuya Kuchiki cut through the snickering as he asked his question in a not-questioning way. His eyes narrowed as he came into view, walking calmly through the open doorway.

"Nothing Captain! We were just discussing the movie here, right Rukia?"

"Oh of course brother! Purely intellectual debating on the topic of-"

"You and your big words, how's he gonna understand that mumbo jumbo!?"

"Because unlike you, my brother isn't as dumb as a monkey!"

"Captain Hitsugaya, are you supervising this 'movie?'" Captain Kuchiki ignored the arguing duo as they went nose to nose flailing arms and shouting in the background.

"Yes. I thought it was important for them to see this along with me, because this is the clip the Head Captain was talking about."

"I thought the instructions were not to view it."

"I thought it was important anyway, and you may find it interesting too, Captain. Your sister had been injured according to this, but Rukia doesn't seem to remember it."

Byakuya's eyes widened for just a second before returning to normal. "Very well. If it concerns Rukia's health I consider watching this movie a priority," he said while sitting down on the floor along with the rest of the group.

_"-you certainly seem relaxed, Ichigo." Uryu noticed, and he pushed his glasses up. _

Nanao ignored all the glances sent her way, and decided to ignore the similarity.

_"Just a while ago you were shouting at everyone because you were worried about Rukia. It could only mean one thing..." Everyone caught on to what he was implying, including Ichigo._

Everyone held their breath.

_"Uryu, Rukia and I are best friends, but there's nothing more to it. We trust each other and look out for each other's backs just like me and Chad here, and all of you. Besides, all of you are my friends and I'd be equally worried about any of you guys. Uryu, Chad, Orihime," Ichigo made eye contact with everyone in the room to show he was completely honest about what he was saying._

Byakuya and Renji were relieved, even as some of the others (ahem Rangiku ahem) complained. If Ichigo had said otherwise, things would've gotten messy. Ichigo wasn't the only protective big brother and friend around.

_"Rukia. Rukia!" different voices were calling out to her from somewhere. "Rukia!" Her eyes fluttered open._

_"You're finally awake!" Orihime's face smiled at her from the edge of her bed, along with the faces of her other friends._

_"You took a full week to recover after Kisuke finally took the spirit energy out of you." Uryu said. "The side effects might have been hallucinations, but what matters is that-"_

_"You're alright." Everyone said in unison._

_"Guys…" Rukia's voice quivered. Then she knocked them all over with a hug._

_"What the-"_

_"Rukia are you really okay?"_

_"Yeah what exactly did you dream about?"_

_She didn't even hear them. "I'm so glad I have friends like you," she sniffed. "Even though you are just humans."_

_"I don't know if that's an insult or a compliment," Chad said._

_"Let's just say it's a compliment!" Orihime cheered._

"Oh good, so I completely recovered thanks to Kisuke. See Renji, I told you I didn't need to go to the fourth division."

"I know that."

_"Hey don't start celebrating yet," Yoruichi called from the doorway. Everyone turned to face her. "We've just discovered the position of the espada who controlled those arrancars."_

"FINALLY, this is the part where it starts getting good!" cheered Rangiku. "I'll be right back," she said while getting up to go to her secret stash. Behind her, she heard her captain sigh and yell something about 'not too much!'

"Sure thing captain!" she called, with no intention of getting less than five bottles. By the time she came back, Rangiku had taken a shower, redone her hair, and found a huge picnic basket for the sake. She arrived to see a battle going on, and was filled in immediately by Nanao while she passed out the sake.

_Ichigo, who was in bankai, Rukia, Chad, and Uryu furiously attacked on four fronts while Orihime provided backup by shielding anyone who needed it in an instant. This particular espada had no number anywhere on it, though it had the usual black and white outfit and it had swamp green hair at shoulder length. His muscle and skills were apparent, but he didn't talk, or challenge, or insult his opponents in the slightest like his subordinates. Very strange behavior for a hollow. The clash continued, and for one brief moment, the air shimmered. Suddenly, the hollow exploded and sent everyone flying, but there was no damage to the espada himself. Then he spoke._

_"Ichigo Kurosaki, I am the voice of Justice," his voice was gravely and deep, and it resonated in every nook and cranny. Small rocks jumped up and the inside of the friends' skulls vibrated._

_"What?" Ichigo's cursed as his teeth chattered from the enemy's voice. "Who the hell are you?!"_

"This man sounds too much like Captain Tosen for my liking."

"Agreed."

_The hollow rambled on for a bit and Aizen's name was mentioned. He leveled his hand at Ichigo's head, and a green light shimmered out, spreading slowly like fog. The fog followed him, even when he tried to dodge, and the more he evaded the faster it came._

_"What the hell is this stuff?!" Ichigo shouted. The light curled around his ankle and crawled up towards his head._

_"Ichigo!" everyone shouted. He tried to slash the stuff away with Tensa Zangetsu but the fog licked his blade as well and payed no heed._

_"This is the vengeful wishes of all your previous hollow victims, compressed into a mist of hatred," the unranked espada rumbled out._

_"Damn it!" Ichigo yelled as the light finally crept up and swallowed him whole._

"Damn, another weirdo after Ichigo." Renji muttered.

"We know that Ichigo Kurosaki is fine, so there's no need to be worried." Byakuya reminded everyone. They were comforted slightly, but the worry still lingered. And both the captains were wondering the same thing,

_The quality of this video is good, but it makes no sense. How is that so if the combat pass is really what recorded it?_

**OoOoOoOoO**

**I've been skipping around a bit in the movie for a few reasons:**

**1\. To introduce new viewers (Nanao, Byakuya, etc. And I know Nanao's appearance seems kind of useless right now, but you'll see why later.)**

**2\. So it's not like I'm completely rewriting Visions**

**3\. So that I can skip the slightly less interesting parts and get to the parts where they go to the past.**

**And btw, after the movie's done I'm not really sure what to do with the knowledge of the people who have watched it. Any ideas? And/or anyone you guys want brought in? They don't just have to be Court Guard members, but if it's impossible for them to be there, like Shinji or something, then it's a no. I'm open to others though. Also, I may have missed some obvious things so...**

**Review below!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey, first time I'm updating this before HotF! **

**OoOoOoOoO**

_Orihime swept over the park one more time with her six flowers, while Chad scoured the surrounding Karakura town and asked around. Rukia and Uryu had their eyes closed and were sitting on tall rocks in meditative positions, mentally scanning for a flicker of the spiritual pressure belonging to their friend. It was frustrating, because spirit energy practically leaked in waves from Ichigo all the time, but now there was nothing._

Captains Hitsugaya and Kuchiki glanced at each other out of the corners of their eyes, they were sure of it now. The combat pass had nothing to do with what they were seeing because it was supposed to be with Ichigo right now, recording _his_ movements. But then why had the Head Captain said nothing? Surely he had realized it too, along with Captain Ukitake.

_"Ichigo..." Rukia spoke aloud. "Where could you have gone?"_

_"Wherever he is, we'll find him," Uryu said, determined._

_"Sounds like you're worried about him," Rukia smirked._

_Uryu grimaced and pushed his glasses up. "I am not worried. I'm doing this because I have no choice, end of discussion."_

_Rukia smiled at his antics, but then frowned. "I just don't get it. There's no way that Ichigo could vanish without a trace, he's the least stealthy person I know, save Renji."_

"Hey! I can be stealthy!" spluttered an indignant Renji, a tick mark on his forehead.

"No you can't, admit it you have no control whatsoever," Rukia deadpanned.

"Maybe not as good as you, but I still have better control over my spirit energy than that guy does."

"I should hope that a lieutenant of mine and of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads would have better control than a mere substitute soul reaper. There should be no competition. Do you hear me Lieutenant?"

"Yes Captain." Renji sighed, then glared with a grunt at Rukia when she snickered.

_Kisuke spoke for a while, explaining how going to the where Ichigo was would work. Then, Chad, Uryu, Orihime, and Rukia poured in their spirit energy as a green crack opened up. After some more talking to prep the four on the process of getting back and what they should expect when they got there, they stepped in._

Rukia gasped, her eyes going wide and her hands flying towards her mouth. This reaction received a concerned, "What?" from everyone in the room.

"I remember, I remember what happens next!" she said animatedly.

"Where'd Ichigo go?"

"What happens to the hollow?"

"How did you get back?"

"What really recorded all of this?"

"Is anyone hurt?"

"What happened to Captain Shiba?

"Do you remember any data about how you-"

"ENOUGH! I said I remembered what happened next, not the entire movie." With that, Rukia walked up to the television and pushed a gray button. She caught the disk as it popped out, and started to clean it on the edge of her robe.

"What are you doing Kuchiki?" Captain Hitsugaya asked seriously, narrowing his eyes.

"With all due respect Captain, I don't think you or anyone else here should see the rest of this," Rukia said solemnly, looking at the disk. "Some of the scenes that follow are sensitive topics, and I don't think Ichigo would appreciate it if everyone here kept watching." She looked up. "Can you respect that?"

"Yes, but I am a Captain and this concerns the meeting we just had. Sensitive or not, it's necessary information," he said. Then Toshiro sighed. "But if you insist, then we can limit the number of officers who see this."

"Thank you Captain, that would work."

"Very well, who wants to leave?"

...

A cricket chirped nearby...

...

"Oh all right, I'll go," Nanao huffed at the same time Momo said, "I guess it'll have to be me then." They looked at each other for a moment, and then shrugged and walked out the door to avoid an awkward situation where neither would want to leave again.

"Okay, so now we only have five officers. Myself, Rangiku, Renji, Rukia, and Captain Kuchiki. This is a small enough group with people who know Ichigo Kurosaki a bit better than the average soul reaper. Now please put the disk back in Kuchiki," Toshiro said with no more room for argument. This was as good as it was going to get.

"Very well," Rukia said after a moment of hesitation. She put the disk back in, gently this time, and pressed fast forward until they caught a glimpse of Ichigo. She rewound it a bit so it was barely before that point and then settled back down.

_Ichigo's eyes shot open. He was lying in the middle of the sidewalk, and people were avoiding him and looking at him funny. He_ _sat up straight and looked wildly around. He was still in Karakura town, but how could normal people see him? He was a soul… Ichigo looked down at himself and found that he was back in his body. Or not.__ He thought for a moment before sprinting to the park at top speed, ignoring the nagging feeling in his mind and forging ahead. It was late evening, and the park looked completely deserted._

"Wait, what's going on?" Rangiku turned and asked Rukia who was sitting beside her. "I thought that you guys were in the park searching for him, he should have run into you by now."

"Just keep watching," Rukia said, hugging her knees to her chest.

_"Dammit, am I too late?" Ichigo wondered aloud, still not realizing what was really happening._

_"Late for what? Do you need help mister?"_

_Ichigo spun around and caught sight of a young black haired girl. His breath caught._

_"Karin?" His eyes widened. "Is that you?" This couldn't be happening, there was no way she was still five years old._

"Karin? She's not that young," Toshiro blinked in surprise.

"You know her Captain?" questioned Rukia.

"We played a game of soccer in the World of the Living once, while I was on a mission. Quit it Rangiku!" a red tick appeared on Toshiro's head as he twisted around and glared at his lieutenant, who was giggling behind her hands and making kissy faces behind him.

_"Karin?" Ichigo repeated, his voice shaking ever so slightly. "Is that really you?"_

_The five-year-old girl looked up at him, confused. "I'm Karin, but how do you know my name? Unless..." Her eyes widened with a sudden realization. "Dad! Dad, come quick!" She looked at him, suddenly angry. "You must be the guy in the park who was following me yesterday!" Karin turned around and ran to her dad, who was running ahead of the family with him as he came to check out the situation._

_"Is my little girl okay!?" He fussed worriedly. "Is something wrong?"_

"Rangiku look, it really is him," said Toshiro, eyes wide. Behind him, Rangiku nodded, also shocked.

_"Dad, I think this was the guy following me the other day! He knows my name just like that other person did when he called to me."_

_Isshin Kurosaki looked over the man standing in front of him, who was frozen with some sort of emotion. There was something about the energy that seemed familiar, and his orange hair also looked very familiar. Based on Isshin's face, you could tell he was struggling to remember something, the way his eyebrows were furrowed and how he kept blinking._

_The rest of his family arrived after seeing a man pop up out of nowhere, and they were slightly breathless. Masaki was carrying Yuzu while her son held onto her hand. Karin immediately rushed over and clung to her brother._

_"Hey," the mom asked sweetly, "what's going on here..." she trailed off when she saw the man in front of her. "I-I don't understand, I know you, but ho-" What he next said was completely unexpected to the past version of the Kurosaki family._

_"You're alive?"_

...

Silence.

...

"I can understand now why you didn't want us to see this," Renji said, glancing at Rukia.

"Yes. Ichigo is meeting his mom for the first time after believing for so long she was dead," Rukia explained. "After this though, it gets worse."

"How so?" Rangiku asked, if a little tentatively.

"She doesn't remember him."

"Oh no."

_"B-but how are you..." Ichigo stared wide eyed at his mother. "I don't g-"_

_"STOP!" someone shouted. It was the orange-haired boy. He stepped away from his mother and sister and turned to face the older teen in front of him. "She's Yuzu's, Karin's, and my mom, and she's the best! Who do you think you are coming over here and saying something mean like that to her?" He looked up at the older Ichigo with an unwavering gaze._

_Ichigo took a step backward. Was this nine-year old boy... "Are you me?" he asked, the shock and confusion apparent in his voice and on his face. _

"SO CUTE!" squealed Rangiku.

_Then he grabbed his head like he was trying to reign in the mess that his mind had become. "I-I don't understand. What's going on here!?" Ichigo staggered backwards and leaned up against the nearest tree trunk._

_"Are you okay?" his mother's voice reached out to him, so concerned. Then he saw her face and it was all suddenly too much to take. Ichigo slumped down against the tree and started breathing heavily. This was terrifying, his mother was right here in front of him and she didn't even recognize him as her grown son at first sight._

"Ichigo..." murmured Renji and Rukia.

_"Hey," little Karin spoke up uncertainly after a silence where only the older Ichigo's unsteady and increasingly fast breathing could be heard. She bit her lip. "You look kind of familiar, but who exactly are you?"_

"I can't believe she asked that!" said Rangiku.

"Me neither," said Rukia incredulously. "I've stayed over at the Kurosaki clinic before, and Karin and Yuzu love and know Ichigo so well. It's hard to imagine what he must have been going through at that moment. Brother, where are you going?" Rukia asked suddenly as she saw Byakuya getting up to leave.

"I'm going to figure out why these people decided to watch the movie uninvited through the window."

**OoOoOoOoO**

**Anyone guess who it might be? Review below!**


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